Carrier for flanged article



June 11, 1968 P. J. WOOD CARRIER FOR FLANGED ARTICLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 6, 1967 INVENTOR. Pawnee J. wooo WW ATTO June 11, 1968 P. J. WOOD 3,387,879

CARRIER FOR FLANGED ARTICLE Filed May 5, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6a, ,65 O 42 T62 1 {F435 53 5b 59 L 3 155 6/ iLes 5: i i b 54 5% C) 6 I I 44 i L 2 75 R49 52 1: 1:2 1;? 5s

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{H 4. INVENTOIZ. PRENTICE J. WOOD ATTORNEY 3,387,879 CARRIER FOR FLANGED ARTEQLE Prentice J. Wood, .loneshoro, (2a., assignor to The Mead Corporation, a corporation of Qhio Filed May 5, 1%7, Ser. No. 636,471 1t} Claims. (ill. 294-872.)

ABTRAT OF THE DISCLOSURE The carrier as disclosed herein is for the purpose of tightly gripping an article such as a capped bottle underneath its cap and comprises a tubular structure having top, bottom and side walls and wherein a medial fold line is formed in the top wall together with a plurality of support tabs foldably joined to the top wall and biased inwardly against the neck of an adjacent bottle so that the weight of the bottle is taken by the ends of the support tabs, the bottom of the carrier being apertured to receive the necks of the bottles and the side walls being constructed of different heights so as to provide secure gripping action. The medial fold line in the top wall defines the bottom of a trough-like structure by which added strength and rigidity are achieved. According to a modification, the carrier is arranged with two aligned rows of apertures in both the top and bottom panels so as to accommodate two rows of packaged articles having flanges at their upper ends.

While this invention is primarily intended for use in conjunction with capped bottles, it is not limited to bottles but may be used in conjunction with tubular articles such as cans having flanges at or near one end. A related invention which is primarily intended for use in conjunction with chimed cans and which is similar in certain respects to this invention is disclosed and claimed in United States patent application Ser. No. 605,036, filed Dec. 27, 1966.

A carrier constructed according to this invention is for use in conjunction with an elongated flanged article and may comprise a tubular structure having bottom, top and side walls, the top and bottom walls having aligned apertures to receive a part of the packaged article, a fold line formed in the top wall medially thereof and parallel to the side edges of the top wall to divide the top wall into a pair of wall sections which are angularly disposed to each other so as to form a trough-like structure, and a support tab formed in each of said top wall sections and foldably joined thereto adjacent said fold line and defining edge portions of the adjacent one of said apertures, said tabs being folded upwardly to occupy angular positions relative to their associated top wall sections and to the exterior of the article disposed in said aperture whereby the ends of said tabs engage underneath the flange of the article to aflord support therefor. Preferably adjacent support tabs are foldably joined to each other along their side edges along a fold line which coincides with the medial fold line in the top wall panel and pairs of support tabs are ordinarily formed on opposite sides of the associated article. In addition, the side walls are constructed of different heights so as to afiord secure gripping action and the fold lines for the support tabs ordinarily are disposed immediately above an outwardly protruding ring structure formed exteriorly on the packaged article in spaced relation below the cap or flange thereof. In accordance with a modification of the invention, two rows of aligned apertures are formed in both the top and bottom panels so as to adapt the carrier for use in conjunction with two rows of packaged articles.

While it is preferable to utilize a fold line in the top wall so as to divide such wall into a pair of wall sections,

States Patent it is not necessary that this be done particularly if the support tab fold lines and orientation are such as to tend to bow the top wall downwardly somewhat.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carrier constructed according to the invention and which is applicable to a single row of packaged articles such as capped bottles; FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank from which the carrier of FIG. 1 is constructed; PEG. 3 is an end view of the structure depicted in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a carrier constructed according to the invention as applied to two rows of flanged articles such as capped bottles; and in which FIG. 5 is a plan view of the blank used in forming the carrier depicted in FIG. 4.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the top panel having side edges 2 and 3. Side wall 4 is foldably joined to top panel 1 along fold line 3 while side wall 5 is foldably joined to top wall 1 along told line 2. A pair of bottom panels 6 and 7 are toldably joined to side walls 4 and 5 along fold lines 8 and 9 respectively. Bottom panels 6 and 7 are disposed in overlapping face contacting relationship to each other but are not ordinarily secured together.

F or receiving the necks of packaged articles such as the bottles B depicted in FIGS. 1 and 3, apertures 16, 11 and 12 are formed in top panel 1 and corresponding aligned apertures 13-, 14 and 15 are formed in bottom panel 6 while apertures l6, l7 and 13 are formed in bottom panel 7. From the description thus far it is apparent that with the panels 6 and '7 disposed in overlapping relationship to each other, the apertures 13 and 16 are disposed in coincidental relationship to each other as are the apertures 14 and i7 and the apertures 15 and 18.

For the purpose of rendering the carrier readily removable from its associated packaged articles B, slits 19 are formed in one of the side walls such as 4 which in known fashion condition that Wall for ready destruction in a manner well known in the art. For example, the tab 29 may be grasped and pulled away from bottom panel 6 and toward top panel 1 so as to sever the carton side wall 4 along the slits 1?. In this manner, side wall 4- is virtually destroyed or at least virtually severed and the packaged articles B may then readily be removed from the carrier.

As is best shown in FIG. 3, side wall 4 is considerably shorter than side wall 5. By this arrangement, the apertures in the bottom panels 6 and 7 are snugly disposed in gripping relationship about the necks of the associated articles and the strength and rigidity of the carrier substantially enhanced. The tabs 4a, 4b, 40, 5a, 5b and 50 preferably should clear the caps of the adjacent bottles.

According to a feature of the invention, a medial fold line 21 is formed in the top wall 1 of the carrier. Thus, the top wall 1 is divided into a pair of wall sections 22 and 23 which define a trough-like structure. Furthermore, in accordance with another feature of the invention, support tab structures in the form of support tabs 24 and 25 are foldably joined along fold lines 26 and 27 to the wall sections 23 and 22 respectively. As is apparent particularly from FIG. 2, the fold lines 26 and 27 diverge in the direction of the bottle neck disposed in aperture 12.

Thus in accordance with a feature of the invention, the wall sections 22 and 23 are tilted inwardly with the medial fold line 21 at the junction therebetween and in like fashion the support tabs 24 and 25 being foldably joined to the wall sections 23 and 22 along diverging fold lines 26 and 27 are disposed in a manner particularly well suited to grip the bottle neck and to engage securely the bottle neck underneath the bottle cap C.

Disposed opposite the support tabs 24 and 25 are the support tabs 28 and 29 which are foldably joined to wall sections 23 and 22 along fold lines 39 and 31 respectively. As is apparent from FlG. 2 fold lines 30 and 31 diverge in the direction of the bottle disposed in aperture 12.

In like fashion, the bottles disposed in apertures 11 and iii are engaged by support tabs 32-39 which are constructed and arranged in a manner identical to the arrangement of tabs 24, 25, 23 and Z9 and detailed description thereof is not deemed necessary.

According to a feature of the invention, the fold lines for the support tabs such as fold lines 26, 27, 3d and 31 for the tabs 24, 25, 28 and 29 are disposed immediately above an outwardly protruding ring-like formation formed about the upper portion of the neck of the bottles B and in slightly spaced relation below the lower surface of the caps C. Thus an unusually sturdy and strong gripping action is afiorded according to the invention.

As is best shown in HG. 3, the angular disposition of the bottom wall comprising bottom panels 6 and 7 relative to the side wall 4- is approximately 90 while the angular relationship between the side wall 4 and the fold line 27 is approximately 70. While these angular relationships are not critical, they are typical and are set forth herein as a matter of description so as to afford an accurate and full disclosure of the invention. The angle between the bottom wall comprising bottom panels 6 and 7 and the side wall 5 is an acute angle as is obvious from FIG. 3.

The modification of the invention as depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5 is similar in most essential respects to the arrangement shown in FlGS. 1, 2 and 3, the modification of FIGS. 4 and 5 being suitable for use in conjunction with two rows of packaged articles B.

The arrangement of FIGS. 4 and 5 comprises a top wall 4-1 bounded along its side edges by told lines 42 and 43. Side wall 44 is foldably joined to top wall 41 along fold line 42 while side wall 45 is foldably joined to top wall 41 along fold line 43. Similarly, bottom panel 46 is foldably joined to side wall 44 along fold line 47 while bottom panel 48 is foldably joined to the bottom edge of side wall 45 along fold line 49. Appertures 50, 51 and 52 are formed in bottom panel 46 while apertures 53, 54 and 55 are formed in bottom panel 48. A plurality of arcuare notches 5d, 57 and 53 are formed in bottom panel 46 and when the carton is assembled these notches coincide with an arc of the circles which define apertures 53, 54 and 55 respectively. Likewise, arcuate cutouts 59, 60 and 61, when the carrier is assembled, coincide with a portion of the circles which define the apertures 56, 51 and 52 as U will be obvious from FIG. 4.

As in the arrangement shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, each row of articles 13 is provided with a fold line designated 2 and 63 in FIGS. 4 and 5. As is apparent in FIG. 4, the wall sections 64- and 65 are relatively narrow and are defined by the fold lines 62, 42 on the one hand and by the fold lines 63, 43 on the other. Similarly, the main fold line of the carrier of FIGS. 4 and 5 is formed in the top wall and is designated by the numeral 66 and defines wall sections 67 and 68 together with their associated fold lines 62 and 63 respectively.

Preferably a pair of hand gripping apertures 69 and 70 are formed in the top wall 41 of the carrier. These of course may include associated finger flaps or may simply constitute finger gripping apertures either of which arrangements is well known.

The carrier of FIGS. 4 and 5 is provided with support tabs as is the carrier of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Such tabs are designated. in connection with one aperture 71 and are identified by the numerals 72, 73, 74 and 75. Support tabs 72 and 73 are foldably joined to wall sections 65 and 68 along fold lines 76 and 77 which diverge in the direction of the article disposed within aperture 71. Similarly fold lines 78 and 79 foldably join the support tabs 74 and to the wall sections 65 and 68 respectively and diverge in the direction of the article disposed within the aperture 731. Of course the support tabs associated with the remaining five apertures disposed in top panel 41 are identical to those just described in conjunction with aperture 71 and a detailed description thereof is not deemed necessary.

it is obvious from FIGS. 4 and 5 that the side walls 4 and t5, unlike the carrier of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, are of the bottle caps, 21 diminution of the gripping action of wardly toward each other.

While upstanding tabs 44a, 44b and 44c are formed along the upper edge of side wall 44, the upper edges of these tabs do not contact the lower edge of the bottle cap B. These upstanding tabs simply lie against and gently engage the sides of the adjacent bottle necks but do not afford support. Should these tabs 44a, 44b and 440 engage the bottle caps, a diminution of the gripping action of the support tabs such as 72, '73, 74 and 75 would result. Stated otherwise, by allowing the side walls 44 and 45 to clear the bottle caps, the carrier is conditioned for flexing during its formation and thereby for establ shing a secure gripping action by the support tabs such as 72, 73, 7 and 75.

In like fashion, upstanding tabs 45a, 45b, 4-50 are arranged so as to clear the caps C of their associated bottles.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, the invention is not limited thereto and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A carrier for an elongated flanged article comprising an elongated tubular structure having bottom, top, and side walls, said top and bottom walls having aligned apertures to receive a part of the article, a fold line formed in said top wall and dividing said top wall into a pair of wall sections angularly disposed to each other to form a trough-like structure, and a support tab formed in each of said top wall sections and foldably joined thereto adjacent said fold line and defining edge portions of the adjacent aperture, said tabs being folded upwardly to occupy angular positions relative to their associated top wall sections.

2. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein said support tabs are foldably joined to each other along adjacent side edges.

3. A carrier according to claim 2 wherein the fold line between said tabs intersects the fold line between said wall sections.

4. A carrier according to claim 2 wherein the fold lines between said support tabs and their associated wall sections are divergent in the direction of the adjacent aperture.

5. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein said side walls are of different height.

6. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein two pairs of support tabs are disposed on opposite edge portions of the aperture.

7. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of aligned apertures are formed in the top and bottom walls and with the tabs of each pair biased toward the tabs of the other pair.

8. A carrier according to claim 6 wherein two rows of aligned apertures are formed in said top and bottom walls and wherein a third fold line is formed in said top panel mid-way between the side edges thereof and parallel thereto, said third fold line constituting the apex of the top wall.

9. A carrier for an elongated flanged article comprising an elongated tubular structure having foldably joined bottom, top and side walls, said top wall being of longitudinally disposed trough-like configuration and Said top and bottom walls having aligned apertures and opposed support tab structures formed in said top wall and foldably joined thereto along fold lines which diverge in a direction toward an aperture in said top wall and with the ends thereof defining opposed edge portions of such aperture, said tab structures being aligned with each other longitudinally of said top wall and being folded upwardly to occupy angular positions relative to said top wall and when so folded said tab structures being effect ve to cause said top wall to bow downwardly to define said longitudinal trough-like configuration.

10. A carrier according to claim 9 wherein a medial fold line is provided in said top wall, said fold line dividing said top wall into a pair of wall sections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,823,064 2/1958 Toensrneier 29487.2 5 3,016,259 1/ 1962 Lawrence 29487.2 3,123,213 3/1964 Kulig 20665 3,156,377 11/1964 Wysocki 2G665 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

10 RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Examiner.

ROBERT D. GUIOD, Assistant Examiner. 

